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M35A3 tire changing to 395/85/20 part 1

BadMastard

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Ok, not so much a question, as a new thread about changing tires and my lovely experience with them.

First off, bought 8 395's out of texarcana mounted on 10 lug hemmt wheels. The goal is to have these tires on my m35a3 for two reasons. One, improve top speed about 5 mph. It will make driving here on the roads slightly less aggravating to those behind me, and let me cruise the interstate at a slightly lower RPM. Two, they look REALLY good!

Decisions- chose to use m35a3 rims to mount the tires rather than recenter hemmt. That might change, but I want to see the results of mounting on the a3 wheels first.

Chose to try "Field Expedient Tire Changes"- meaning I do have a 1/2 inch air impact wrench. Backup is a 1/2 inch electric impact, and a crowbar (tire iron) and many sockets. You need 15/16ths on the rim nuts for the hemmt wheels. You need 1 1/8 for the rim nuts on the m35a3 wheels. You will probably need a 4 foot breaker bar and a friend or two somewhere down the line. I tried to use minimum tools, as if it was a field tire change.

Job one- separate the hemmt wheels from the tires. First off, my air compressor wouldn't turn the rim lugs. Not even a little, and it's a 12 gallon 8.9 cfm 4 hp at 125 psi. Nothing. Gun rated at 500lbs, suspect it's more like 250. Out goes the air wrench. Turned a couple by hand. Needed a 2 foot breaker bar, but it works. Note to self, self locking nuts are tight to break loose, and stay tight. Tried wd-40, PB blaster and pure silicon spray. Not much help. Tried wire brushing studs. Not much help, but some. Especially on the carc covered studs.

Ok, you CAN loosen the rim nuts by hand. Went to electric wrench rated at 365 ft lbs. That turns them, barely. Plan on cooling it down every 2-3 nuts.

So, first tire, rolled into position, and I hear water sloshing around in it. Yep, 10 gallons of it, as measured later. Makes the heavy tire even heavier. tTre is propped against other tires at a 45 degree angle, and remove all rim nuts. Done. Now, break seal on tire. This is simple, if muscle intensive. Take tire iron and work it ALL the way down between the tire from bead area on rim. Push and pull a bit on the iron, it will move "slightly". Move 4 inches further, repeat. and repeat. And repeat. Add copious amounts of soapy water, I just hung a rag soaked in it on the edge of the tire dripping down into the bead area. Wheel will "pop" and move freely. Lift off first piece of wheel.

Flip tire over and lean at angle against other tires. Repeat tire iron trick until the rim pops off tire. Now is the hard part, you have to evenly remove the rim until you get it to bind on the tire valve, which it will. You can either wiggle it past (sometimes) or you can take your tire iron and lift the edge just a fraction and it will slide out. You have now removed a tire from a wheel.

Warnings- Every single part of this operation involves something heavy. Please use caution.

Make sure your tire iron had no burrs or sharp edges- it will scratch things you don't want to scratch.

Locking nuts do NOT release easy, your impact wrench is getting a workout, or your arms are. Up side is after removing the nuts, there really isn't any corrosion left on the studs. It's been scraped off by the nut.

Pics- Tire with tire iron marks- see how far you have to put your iron. Tire iron placement- where the iron starts. Bead locker- what it looks like inside your tire- tools and rims- job done, tools used, mostly.

Part two starts with the a3 wheels.
 

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Sephirothq

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This might seem like a dumb question so please humor me if it is. Are both of those tires set up for MPT rims? I believe the stock 14.50 - 20 are a MPT tire. But I don't think the 395's are.

Please just check to make sure. There are a few threads about the differences and the potential danger it could cause.
 

gimpyrobb

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Yes the A3 rims are MPT, not the 395s are not MPT rated, yes people have run 395s on A3 rims.

BM(hehe I said BM) I have swapped out a set of 7 395s from fmtv rims to A3 rims in a day. You will feel like death for the next week. Just an FYI!
 

flyxpl

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This might seem like a dumb question so please humor me if it is. Are both of those tires set up for MPT rims? I believe the stock 14.50 - 20 are a MPT tire. But I don't think the 395's are.

Please just check to make sure. There are a few threads about the differences and the potential danger it could cause.
you are correct . The A3 rim is MPT the 395's are not MPT . SOme guys do it and some guys say no way .
 

BadMastard

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Gimpy,

lol... someone finally got it! Bm. he he he. But yes, my arms feel like they went to war. I haven't even moved them to the a3 rims yet. I had to find a bigger breaker bar. Holy crap those rim nuts are tight on the a3!

Ya, I heard about the 395 debate. It's a fascinating debate. I hear it's impossible, and I hear it's just fine. Looking at the beadlock on those puppies, I don't think grenades could get them to roll off. Maybe a tactical nuke, but just maybe. I will see how they go together on the first one and let everyone know what I find.

Speaking of which, Hey Gimpy! can you use the o ring from the hemmt tires on the a3's? I'm good I think for now, but spares are a nice idea!

Like I currently have 8 spare rims. Can you say boat anchor? Anyone in the PNW that needs em? PM me. If you're not out here, no I'm not shipping them. I'm tired of moving them. Very tired.
 

gimpyrobb

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If I remember correctly, they are different sizes(Orings) but I would set 2 halfs of a rim together with the Oring and see if it will compress. If so, I think it should work. You know the A3 bead locks are wider than the FMTVs right? The A3 rim is 11" wide compared to the 10" FMTV. If you were to sell some of the FMTV bead locks, I may be interested.
 

rchalmers3

Half a mile from the Broad River
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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According to photo 4 of 4, the bead seating looks excellent. The rust stain appears to be full contact to the lip of the bead. So while the tire may not be designed for MPT rims, the tire lacks a bead saver that allows it to work.

Rick
 

BadMastard

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Gimpy,

Ya, I know about the beadlocks being a different size. I'm at that point where I'm about to take my first 395 and put it on my a3 rim. I'd actually say removing the beadlock from the a3 tire was easier than removing it from the fmtv tire. Now as for installing it.....

For everyone, does anyone in the PNW have a local source for hemmtt centers for the deuce? My next possible trick is to take some of the 395's and put them on my 109a3, but I'm either going to use a3 wheels or reuse the fmtv wheels, which I think we can recenter. Correct me if I'm wrong Gimpy. End result- new shoes for the whole family.
 

Mike929

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I bought 8 of the same type of FMTV wheel/tires from GL and was planning to recenter the FMTV wheels for my deuce.

Why recenter Hemmtt wheels when you already have a set of wheels that were made for those tires and should be just as easy to recentered?
 

gimpyrobb

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Yo J, sorry I missed your call. Just got the VM tonight. I cheated a little and used a hydraulic bead breaker to pull the tires off the rims. If you don't have access to one, try using a cherry picker. Set the legs on the tires and pull the rim half out with the boom. I think I used spud bars opposite from each other one time. Make sure you use them in the 12 and 6 position, NOT the 3 and 9 position, it requires twice as much force for some reason.





:p
 

Josh

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Hydraulic log spliters work great to. Helped me tear down 28 900x20s in about 3 hours. I used one in the 22.5ton flavor. That and a duck bill hammer made life easy.
 

BadMastard

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Oh, that would have been nice, to have a log splitter, or a hydraulic press, or a cherry picker. No, I had a crowbar. A nice crowbar, but a crowbar none the less.

Now, on to that recentering thing. Anyone changed up the FMTV rims to make them work on the deuce?
 

gimpyrobb

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I'm not sure. Are they a big offset like a stock deuce rim? I would be worried the tire might hit the draglink on a sharp right turn.
 

Mike929

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Anyone changed up the FMTV rims to make them work on the deuce?
That was my plan, but I haven't gotten to that project. I do have the tires and wheels sitting on a trailer in my back yard though. :)

The plan is that my brother will turn the center out of the FMTV wheels and get some rough cut plates that he can turn down to fit the inner diameter of the wheels.

I will mount the new plate on the back of the wheel to move the wheel/tire out. I think it gives it a cleaner look and it moves the tire/wheel out a little further for the 395 tires.
 

Mike929

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I'm not sure. Are they a big offset like a stock deuce rim? I would be worried the tire might hit the draglink on a sharp right turn.
I think with the center cut out and the plate installed on the back it would have enough offset to allow the 395s. Definitely more then the ones installed on original deuce wheels.

I plan on flipping my back hubs so they all line up as well.
 

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Mike929

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You thinking of welding it in, or having it bolt together?
I will use the 20 bolts that hold the wheel together. My information is that welding is a bad idea. With the amount of heat needed to make a good weld the wheel will move. Bolting will create a stronger more stable wheel based on my SME that is advising me.
 

BadMastard

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Mike929,

So you're thinking trim the center out all the way to the bolt area, and then pulling the studs out and mounting the studs on the new center, and bolting it all together from there?

Gimpy, no problem on the call back, I got most of it figured out. It only hurts now when I breathe.
 

Mike929

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Mike929,

So you're thinking trim the center out all the way to the bolt area, and then pulling the studs out and mounting the studs on the new center, and bolting it all together from there?

Gimpy, no problem on the call back, I got most of it figured out. It only hurts now when I breathe.
You can cut out the center bubbled out section, then use the 20 bolts around the outside to attach a plate to the wheel that has the 6 bolt pattern you need for the deuce hub. Same thing they do with the Hemmt wheel conversion. I will just have 20 bolts around the edge instead of 16.

BTW, My brother has a professional machine shop, so when I say cut out the center, I mean that I will hand it to him and let him perform his magic. :)
 
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